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A bittersweet and heartwarming story that champions the love of family and people who become like family. Heidi and her mom live next door to Bernadette. Agoraphobic Bernadette takes them under her wing when Heidi is just a baby. Heidi's mom says her name is So B. It and is mentally challenged. So we first meet Heidi as a girl who has grown up facing many challenges due to her mom's handicap and neighbor's phobia. The discovery of a roll of undeveloped film sets Heidi off on a cross-country adventure to find answers about her past. Through it all, Bernadette is there for Heidi despite her limitations. I inadvertently read the sequel "Soof" ahead of this one and would most definitely recommend reading them in order for maximum impact.

While it is listed as a Middle School-range children’s book, I really loved it. The pathos and sensitivity of the main characters – Heidi and Bernie – are just incredible. It is about Heidi and her quest for an identity, and it also tells the story of Heidi’s mother who has “a bum brain.” The author delved into a twelve-year-old girl’s mind and written it from her perspective. Not just for kids, imho. (submitted by library customer MA)

My teacher chose this book for me to read in the sixth grade. At first, I was not looking forward to it at all. The title seemed odd and hinted that the book wouldn't have a good end.
Then, as I'd have to do a book report on this soon, I gave it chance.
Everything about this was interesting and I felt that it was relatable, but at the same time it wasn't.
Heidi not going to school was something I COULDN'T connect to, but her curiosity about her past most certainly was. I mean, who wouldn't want to know about their parents? Where they came from?
I loved the fact that Heidi had that lucky streak of hers, and that she had a caring person like Bernadette when they were in need. The two of them helped each other and Heidi's mother survive. That bond is entirely what made this story so beautiful.

I love this book, I don’t know what the person before me was thinking ;)
It was super emotional, and the ending almost made me cry (i’ll try not to spoil!)
I really love Bernadette, as a neighbour, as family, and as a name!
Heidi is really brave, and i’d Love to meet her one day!
The part about Shirley Temple on the train was kind of funny.
I think that you should definitely read this book.
At first I thought that Thurman Hill was just a made up person they were using to be left alone.
I love this book, and I think that other reader’s will too.
Everyone’s different, though!
I loved Soof, and the whole “So B. It” as a name. It makes a whole lot of sense in the end.

Twelve - year - old Heidi It is nothing like her neighbour Bernadette, who is more like a mother - figure to her, or her friend Zander, who she sometimes talks to in the stairwell of her building. Both know all about their parents, and their grandparents, and where they came from. All she has is her mentally disabled mother who calls herself So B. It, and a four letter word that sends her on a journey to a place that she believes holds all the answers she needs. No matter how many obstacles she faces, Heidi is determined to figure out her family history and learn what 'soof', the word her mother says every now and then, actually means.
This story takes place in Nevada in a small apartment. Since Heidi's mother can't take care of her or herself, their neighbour, Bernadette, who has a fear of leaving her house, opens the door connecting her apartment to theirs so that she can look after them both. She managed to keep Heidi safe for twelve years, but Bernadette can't stop her from leaving home to find 'soof'.
Though this book can be slightly boring at times and lacks the great fight scenes and drama that some people enjoy, I love it, and have read it twice. The characters are so well described and four dimensional, that they could be real people .
This book is no Hunger Games or Harry Potter, but I still think it deserves to be on every book shelf and read at least once, so please consider adding So B. It to your summer reading list.